NEW DELHI: Former Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela alleged on Thursday that the party conspired to get the votes of two of its rebel legislators disqualified in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha poll.
Vaghela, who quit the Congress last month, further said that the Election Commission (EC) disqualifying the votes was “planned in advance”.
“The EC had no role in this, they should not have interfered. The returning officer had the right to decide. It was a conspiracy by the Congress, they had planned everything well in advance,” Vaghela said.
He claimed the Congress had planned to challenge the election, a day before the polling.
“The Congress had also planned its arguments made before the EC. Not just that, it had also decided whose votes would be challenged,” Vaghela said, daring the EC to release the video of the voting process.
According to Vaghela, as many as 36 Congress legislators are unhappy with the party leadership. “Those who cross voted in RS polls will join BJP,” he added.
“If the Congress had not taken its 44 MLAs to Bengaluru, more than 30 MLAs could have resigned. The party did not take cross voting in President polls seriously,” he said.